Cave In
by Alice Bekett
Summary: Surana is trapped in the Deep Roads,alone and with limited supplies,he stumbles onto the path of Branka.Will he survive long enough for the others to find him, or will he succumb to the demons that torment him?


I stared dully at my hands, my trembling, bloodstained and filthy hands.

_What happened?_

I sat heavily on the ground, feeling faint and winded, not noticing the darkspawn beginning to appear from the tunnel ahead of me. A roar of an Ogre made me look up, and stumble to my feet. It was angry, and was charging straight at me.

I ran to the other side of the cavern, ducking into a crack large enough for me to squeeze into. I popped into a small cave, with a small spring of odd smelling water in the back corner. I flung myself into the spring, gripping tightly to the rocky ledge that kept my head afloat.

The walls shook, dust and small rocks littered the stone ground, I held my breath. _Make it go away, make it go away. Please…_ I had never believed in the Maker, and believed less and less with each passing day in the Circle Tower. Kinloch hold was certainly not the place to teach an elf about the Maker and His Bride.

The pounding stopped, and I heard the heavy footfalls of the ogre. I heaved myself from the spring, arms trembling from the effort. I lay on the hard ground, panting weakly. _How long have we been down here? _ A week? Two? More than that? Or had it just been days since we left Orzammar?

I couldn't remember anymore. I had no idea where I was, had no way of making my way back to Orzammar. I would wonder the Deep Roads until someone found me, I died of hunger or thirst, or I became like Ruck. Thinking back, I didn't want to become like him, at all.

I swallowed my exhaustion, and crept to the crevice I had squeezed through. It had survived the Ogre's pummeling, and didn't even look much different than before. I left my pack in the cave, and cast several runes around the door. Traps, and alarms. One was visible to everyone, and would let my friends know I was nearby if they came this way.

At least, I hoped they would see it. The tunnel was dark, and I couldn't make it glow. I was out of lyrium, and casting the runes had drained me of my mana. I would have to hope that if they came, they would be looking for such runes.

They had seen me use them before we were separated, after all.

I squeezed into the cave again, and sat with my back to the crevice. Already, despite the circumstances, my eyes were beginning to slide shut.

(LINE BREAK)

I was startled awake by a snuffling sound beside my head. I cracked one eye open, to see a nug, of all things, sniffing my pack. Moving quickly, I managed to catch the thing, and killed it with my dagger. It was quick, but it certainly wasn't clean. I sighed, and peeked outside. None of the traps had been disturbed, and I couldn't sense any darkspawn close by.

I looked around. How could I cook the nug? How could I do it without suffocating myself, or alerting the darkspawn to my presence? Then it hit me, a piece of advice Wynne had told me.

_Hot rocks work as well as any flame_. She had said. _You are a powerful mage, more than capable of heating a few rocks to cook your food. _

I smiled, and began to prepare my food.

I ate some of the nug, putting the rest near the back of the cave, and sat back down, wondering what I could do. I was lost, with little supplies, and no friends to help me if I got caught in a situation I couldn't face on my own. I had no lyrium, and only a few health potions. I had a few days' worth of dry rations, and a spring behind me. I could survive, for a while, if nugs continued to make themselves present.

I sighed, and stood. I took my pack, and slipped out of the cave, putting up a few more wards and runes around the door to keep out predators, and made my way down the tunnel. I decided to explore a little, putting my signature rune every few feet so that the others might be more likely to find me if they went exploring on their own.

I kept clear of any tunnels or rooms that I could feel the darkspawn gathering in. I marked them danger, and moved on. After a few hours, I was no longer convinced my friends were nearby. I couldn't sense Alistair, and couldn't feel Morrigan's or Wynne's magical signatures in the area. I left my rune, and continued on.

(LINE BREAK)

I returned to my cave, an eternity later. I was exhausted, both physically and magically. Once again, my cave was undisturbed while I was gone. I ate more of my nug, and stared up at the pointed ceiling above my head.

"I should go scavenging tomorrow," I muttered, "Maybe find some weapons, some potions, like Ruck."

I shuddered, wondering what the others were doing in my absence. Had they stayed near the cave-in? Had they gone back to Orzammar to organize a search? Had they found Branka, and left? It wouldn't surprise me if Alistair did. We never got along, especially not after Redcliffe.

I wiped at my forehead, running a hand through my short black hair. What else could I do but wait? I was utterly lost. The cave-in had separated me from the only person who knew where we had been. Ohgren was a drunk, but he was determined, and a good fighter. I also figured he would have a wicked sense of humour if he allowed it.

I didn't blame him, though. We were searching for his house. His clan, and his wife had been gone for two years, and no one in Orzammar cared enough to try. I may not have cared much, but I was curious. A dangerous combination for a mage, I mused idly.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I did somehow, still wondering about the Anvil and Branka.

I was startled awake, when one of my wards sounded from outside, and a little burst of flame entered my cave. I peered outside the entrance, my mouth going dry when I realized the amount of darkspawn that were marching their way through the tunnel.

I stayed stock still, and waited for the angry darkspawn to either turn back, or trigger the rest of the traps. Not a second had passed when the thought crossed my mind, and the rest of the traps were triggered, spilling grease, fire, ice, and other hexes and curses on the darkspawn crossing just feet away from me.

Some of them fell, others became enraged. Despite my better judgement, I began to cast, throwing spell after spell at the darkspawn. More than a dozen darkspawn fell, and when the last one fell, bleeding to the ground, I fell against the crevice. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I seriously doubted I would be able to get up for a few minutes.

Unbeknownst to me, an ogre was stomping its way down the tunnel. I was so exhausted that I didn't sense, or hear it, until it was almost on top of me. I bit back a yell, after all, I didn't want any more to be alerted, and stumbled to my feet.

I wondered, what could I do? No mana, no sword, just two daggers and a staff. The staff was useless, and while I was good with daggers, I couldn't take an ogre down on my own. I readied myself as much as I could, trying to make sure I didn't get caught in between a wall and the ogre. My head was spinning, and I could barely see, but I wasn't going to die alone, at least, not if I could help it.

The ogre charged, and I flattened myself against the wall, slicing at its legs as it charged by. It roared, but was rather committed to the direction it was going. It spun, and stomped over to me, and I took a breath, casting _Arcane Bolt _at it in an attempt to make it at least slow down.

No luck, but I did take out an eye. I dodged its blows, trying to keep close enough to hack and slash, but far enough away that it couldn't kick me. I got sloppy though. I tripped over a genlock, and the Ogre took its chance, and picked me up. It began to squeeze, clearly enjoying the pain it was brining.

I flailed, feeling my ribs begin to bend, and heard several _snaps_ as they broke. My dagger hit the Ogre's wrist, but it didn't let go. My head reeled, and I slashed again. _C'mon, need more blood, just like the demon said at Redcliffe_….

My vision was fading, and I couldn't breathe. I felt the blood pouring from the wound, and allowed my magic to bend it, and set it aflame. The Ogre dropped me, and I nearly passed out from the impact. My hold on the magic, however, kept me semi-awake, as I killed the Ogre with its own blood. My head was spinning even faster now, and I could barely believe what I had done. The blood in my veins was singing slightly now, and I could already hear the whispers of eager demons, tempting me with more knowledge of blood magic, if I would accept their deal.

I shook my head. No, blood magic was to be taken seriously, not like a toy. I would use it only in the direst of emergencies, not on a whim. I wouldn't become like Jowan, as if I needed power anyway. Irving had always said I had more power in my pinky finger than most mages did in their whole bodies…

(LINE BREAK)

Alistair paced in front of the gates to the Deep Roads, mentally urging the others to hurry up. Their leader, Surana, had been alone in the darkspawn infested place for three days on his own. His food had to be running out, and Wynne had told him that Surana had no lyrium.

If Surana died down there, Alistair would have to lead. He would have to make the tough decisions, something Alistair believed he wasn't ready for. The fact that Alistair hated Surana didn't really matter, Alistair didn't want to be completely alone.

So, Alistair was determined to find the elf, even if it killed him to do so. Just as Alistair was about to march up to the inn, and forcefully drag the others along, he saw them, packs full, and faces set with worry. Alistair smiled, and turned to the entrance to the Deep Roads. _Let's get this over with._

(LINE BREAK)

I shivered, wrapping my cloak around my shoulders, shifting the pack that rested against my hip. I was cold, and had to flee my crevice once I no longer sensed as many darkspawn nearby. As I moved, I left my runes, some glowing faintly, and some not.

The faint awareness of my blood had not faded, though the demons trying to talk to me through the Fade had stopped some time ago. I looked around, both feeling with my magic, and in my Warden sense. The darkspawn were numerous, but not overly close.

I was tiring rapidly, since I wasn't used to fighting Ogres on my own. I needed to find somewhere else to sleep, and I wasn't going to sleep out in the open if I could help it. I placed my hand on the wall near my head, and noticed the smooth chips in the wall. My eyes widened, remembering what Oghren had said about Branka chipping the walls.

I couldn't believe it, I was lost, on my own, and I may have found the path to take to Branka, or at least another clue as to where she was. I stifled a sneeze, and continued onward. I kept one hand planted firmly on the wall, keeping my eyes and senses busy by trying to sense darkspawn.

I would succeed, even if it took me a month to get me back to Orzammar.

(LINE BREAK)

Wrote this at school, when my computer was down, and really liked the idea. I hope this won't be a massive project, but it's been something I've been toying with for quite a while.

Feel free to review or PM you questions, comments, and suggestions.

Sadly, I do not own Dragon Age.


End file.
